Yin and Yang and In between
by PikachuGirlXx
Summary: And then he said the words I would never forget- "You know, The world pushes us without mercy. Then, when some push back, the world points at them and calls them 'Evil.'" (Tell me what you think of this! R&R! Different Devils fruit! paring suggestions? Being edited! :3 )
1. PROLOGUE- Evil?

******Just a short. I might make it into a story when I finish a some other stories. So, enjoy!**

I walked though the town. I can't exactly call it ___my_town (no one really wants me here), but just "the town" works.. I stared out at the sea. I can't wait to be a pirate! The Pirate King! Though, my grandfather disapproves. I turned and ventured through the woods. The animals left me be - they knew I was stronger than them. I climbed over fallen trees and bushes. My Devil's Fruit was a weird one. I found it when my grandfather brought me aboard one of his ships and we went to a nearby island. I had snuck off on my own and found the fruit in a small, stuffy, cave. It looked good enough to eat, so I did. It tasted gross, but I had already swallowed the whole thing. But I'm getting off track here.

My Devil's Fruit is the Yin-Yang Fruit. It's very strange. My personality is constantly changing with my moods and it's hard to keep a valid balance. One moment, I could be the most innocent, happy, person on Earth and the next - well, let's not talk about that. As long as I can stay happy or cheerful, we won't have to worry about the other half. The other half came out once. I guess I can talk about what I remember.

___ It was after I ate the fruit. My friend Shanks had brought me back from the island and was bringing me back to the bar I was living at with Makino._

_"____Now! What do you think about us pirates!?" he bellowed, laughing at my smiling face. I shrugged._

_"____Now I really don't wanna be a Marine! I wanna be a pirate! Pi-ra-te!" I yelled, spelling out each syllable. Shanks looked down at me._

_"____Well, good for you, kid! But you won't make it two feet!" He laughed. I got a bit angry, my face heating up with rage. I felt a lot angrier than I actually was. "What's wrong?" Shanks asked. He then stepped back. I glanced at a window. There was a black air coming off me. It swarmed around like the wind, lifting my short black hair. The hem of my shirt flowed with the strange mist-like substance. I was scared. I stopped. Maybe, I had wondered, it was that weird, nasty fruit. I looked at Shanks and reached in my pocket and pulled out part of the fruit I ate. Shanks grabbed it from me. "Did you eat this?" he asked. I nodded. I felt tears in my eyes._

So anyway, after conducting some research, we found out that the fruit was the Ying-Yang Fruit and that my personality was now _very_ unstable. We found out that I could snap at any moment. On the other hand, when I'm happy, the air around me shines pure white and my eyes sparkle, my intelligence (if I had any) flies out the window and gives way to the innocence. I become bubbly and giggly, overcome with laughter and joy. Also, either part of my personality gives me great strength. The happier or angrier I get, the more powerful I become. I try and keep myself this way. But it doesn't always work. So, where was I? Oh, yeah. I walked through the forest and came to a large heap of trash. I loved it here! So many things to do. So many people to meet or things to explore. I ran through when something caught my eye. It was a pirate ship wheel! I flipped my straw hat back and grabbed at it, when a pair of pipes hit my hands. I jumped back.

"Ow!" I yelped. The wheel I wanted flashed out of my view. I glared at the empty spot. I looked around. Then I saw two boys running off... with my wheel. "Hey!" I yelled. I scrambled up and ran after them.

The boys tried to lose me, hopping through the impossible trails of the forest and through dangerous animal territory. I knew the forest better than anyone so their maneuvers went unnoticed. They glanced back at me and I sped up. So did they. We ran for a while longer until they disappeared. I looked around. Then I looked up. There was a tree house. The door was closed as I climbed the ladder. I tried the door but it was locked. I sighed before pushing against the door with all my little might. It cracked and burst off its wooden hinges. Then a rope swished, and a large metal ball flew at me.

"Ah!" I ducked and it whisked over my head.

"Crap! She dodged it!" I looked up. A boy with black hair and a freckled face was staring at me. Another boy with blond hair and a suit was also looking at me with a face of annoyance. They appeared to mean and strong. But I stood my ground when I saw the wheel I wanted in the far corner of the round room.

"That's mine!" I yelled.

"No, it's ours," the black-haired boy snapped.

"No! I found it first! And I'm taking it back!" I stomped inside and the boy stopped me. He glared at me and I glared back. "Give it," I commanded.

"No," he replied, smirking.

"___Give it__,_" I growled, emphasis on each word. I felt that anger coming. He glared back at me and smirked even more.

"No," he said plainly.

I guess I lost it. I blacked out after I saw the black air trailing out of me. When I woke up, I was in the wreckage of that tree house. Wood was thrown all over the place. The boys were up in the highest tree, staring at me with wide eyes. I looked down and saw the wheel, undamaged, in my hands. I smiled at the wheel. I started laughing, my personality changing with my happiness. I laughed and giggled, the pure white air flowing out with my joy. The innocence and kind nature took over. I looked at the boys. They were battered and bruised. I gasped.

"Are you guys okay? I'm sorry! Here!" I started picking up pieces of wood. "I'll help you fix it! You can even have the wheel!" I smiled. They looked at each other, then looked at me. The blonde-haired one hopped down, walking to me slowly.

"What was that? You destroy our home then offer to fix it?" he asked, eyebrow raised. I nodded.

"I ate a Devil's Fruit! The Yin-Yang Fruit. If I get too angry or too happy, my personality changes," I explained. The other boy had come now. They both looked at me with open mouths, then at each other. "The more I feel of one emotion, happy or angry, the stronger I get." I shrugged. "I was really happy when I saw I had the wheel, so I switched again!" I spun around, picking up more wood.

The boys' names were Ace and Sabo. Sabo was the blonde-haired one and Ace was the freckle-faced boy with black hair.

"So where do you live?" Ace asked. I shrugged.

"No where, really," I said. Sabo was nailing another piece of wood onto the tree.

"You can live with us!" he exclaimed.

"I can? I mean, you want me to?" I inquired. Ace shrugged. Sabo nodded. I smiled.

"Okay!" I said, happily fixing up the house some more. The boys took me to meet Dadan. Dadan was a mountain bandit and my grandfather was there too. He saw me.

"Ah! I see you've met Ace!" He smiled at me. I nodded.

"Yep! I kinda let my Devil's Fruit go out of control again, though." I rubbed my head and laughed. My grandfather sighed.

"Really, you need to learn to control that," he said. I laughed.

"I guess so, Gramps!" The bandits, Ace, and Sabo looked between me and Grandpa. They had a shocked look on their faces.

"GRAMPS!?" they yelled.

It was two years and many adventures, training sessions, and arguments later that a twelve-year-old Ace, a twelve-year-old Sabo, and a ten-year-old me were sitting around a tree stump, cups of saké in our hands.

"Brothers? That's so cool!" Sabo smiled when Ace explained. I pouted.

"Only brothers?" I asked. Ace reached over and rubbed my hair.

"And sisters, of course." He smiled. I grinned back.

"Right!" I smiled as we clanked together our cups before drinking and passing, drinking and passing, and drinking and passing once more. I was bubbling with happiness. The white air surrounding me and waving around like the wind. I laughed and my brothers smiled at me. I loved them both. Ace and Sabo. It was great, until we met Sabo's father and Sabo was taken from me and Ace. I sulked around for the first couple of days and Ace tired to cheer me up. As we helped out some pirates who helped take Sabo, I was sad. Very sad. I put down the boxes where Ace told me to and we were told to stay the night.

The next day was a bit more than I could handle.

It was later in the day. Everything was engulfed in flames. People were screaming and running. The pirates were banging at the gate that separated the Nobles from the "trash." I don't quite remember what happened. They had hurt Ace, though. I had blacked out again. And again, I came to a bit later. The fire was out, the pirates were gone, and Ace was shaking me so I would wake up.

"Hey! Hey!" he yelled. I rubbed my eyes.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You happened." Ace smiled, joking around at the mess I had made. I smiled too. Then I looked back at the Noble's city. I walked up to the gate and pushed. The large door creaked and I pushed harder. The door opened just enough for me and Ace to sneak inside. I looked around. Everyone was going about their daily lives like nothing had happened to the people outside. Ace put a hand on my shoulder, motioning for me to follow him. I walked after and we looked for Sabo. Well, first we split up. That was a bad idea.

I looked around for Sabo. People were glaring at me and saying things like "Looks like they didn't get _all _the trash." It was getting me mad. I wanted to keep balance, but it was hard. Very hard. I stopped when I heard the insult again, I turned to the crowd that were walking around aimlessly.

"What is wrong with you all?" I asked loudly. People stared. "I swear! I have never met a group of more horrible people all in one place! How could you do that? Just wipe out a whole place to please one person? Do you know how many lives you ended? The homes you destroyed? And yet you don't even care!? You're just laughing and going on like it never happened! That's not right!" I yelled. Everyone was definitely staring now. That's when I heard it. It was faint, a whisper maybe.

"How rude. Who would raise such an evil little girl?" That word cut deep. Evil. Was I evil? No, I was just saying what needed to be said. Was that so wrong? That made me evil?

I don't quite know how I got out there, back on the beach where I stared out at the ocean. I sniffled. That word still fresh in my mind. "Evil." I looked around and noticed a man. He had a hood covering his face and was sitting a few feet away from me.

"Don't listen to them," he said. I looked over.

"What?" I asked.

"You're not evil. That was brave, what you said," he responded, turning to me a bit. I still couldn't make out his face, though.

"I'm not?" I asked. He shook his head. And then he said the words I would never forget.

"You know, the world pushes us without mercy. Then, when some push back, the world points at them and calls them 'evil.'" I looked over at him.

"Um... I'm Luffy," I said. The man stood and walked away.

"It was nice to meet you, Luffy D. Monkey," he said, and he was gone. I didn't realize it until later, but it was quite odd.

I never told him my full name.


	2. Not A Chapter

******NOT A CHAPTER.**

******I just thought I explain some of the moves Luffy will have throughout this story so there's no confusion when she's fighting. Since she has the Yin-Yang Fruit, the moves have been modified, though she does have the same name for some.**

******Yin-Yang Pistol**** - This is when Luffy either gathers all her negative or positive energy in one of her hands and punches it out at her enemy at a fast speed, like a gun. It makes a strong impact similar to being punched or shot.**

******Yin-Yang Gatling Gun**** - Luffy gathers all her negative or positive energy and shoots it out repeatedly and quickly. It hits and the person won't feel the impact until a second after.**

******Yin Shield**** - Luffy claps her hand together, spreads them out, and expands a large circle similar to a white 'yin' sign in front of her. It can only spread out to as much power as she has at that time. She can use it to cover her crew from bullets, canons, and anything that isn't sharp. It can block out all things bad, though the small black spot on the Yin is the weak point. She also uses another form of this move. It doesn't require the hand clapping, she can will the shield to protect certain parts of her body at a time. She doesn't necessarily call out this one's name.**

******Yin-Yang Whip**** - Luffy lets out positive energy in one hand and negative in the other. They fashion out in long whips that she can expand and retract to her will. She can have one at a time or two at one time.**

******Yin-Yang Rocket ****- A swirling beam of black and white flies from Luffy's feet and propellers her around, she can control where it goes and can sometimes give the illusion that she can fly.**

******Second Gear**** - Luffy releases energy and they come off her body in a black and white steam. It raises all her senses and she can be easily angered because she's trying to maintain a balance between yin and yang.**

******Third Gear**** - Luffy holds her hand straight at the top of her head and brings it down as if splitting herself in half. One half of her glows white and the other half glows black. Although, her eye on the white side turns black and the one on the black side turns white. After she powers down, her body glows a sickly gray color and she becomes emotionless for a few minutes.**

******Other Advantages (yin)**** - Luffy can use her positive energy to heal someone. It can help fatal wounds become less threatening but she can only fully heal small cuts and scrapes. She does this by focusing positive reinforcement through her hands to the other person. It can also help with emotional healing. She can also block out bad things and it helps with shielding and lifting things up.**

******Other Disadvantages (yang)**** - The negative energy can sometimes make Luffy go a bit out of control. If she gets too angry, she can be blinded to the difference between right and wrong. She can go overboard and destroy a whole city, even after she's beaten an enemy. She could even start attacking her crew. When like this, she needs to be reminded of what she cares about: friends, family, her dream. The most common way she come back to her senses is when her hat is put in jeopardy or her a member of the crew says something to remind her of who she is. After she calms down, she'll most likely pass out from the power drain.**


	3. The girl who will be the Pirate King!

_Years later, I had set out to fulfill my dream. The only thing is, why does everything bad happen to me!? I climbed in a barrel when my ship was caught in a terrible whirlpool. My head was spinning as I was spun around and around. Finally, the barrel settled and I fell asleep in the rocking sea. It was about a day later when I heard the faint splashing of a rope hitting the water beside me. I stirred in my sleep when I felt the barrel being dragged and hauled onto a flat surface. There was laughing, then silence, then some screaming. Lots of screaming. Was this a passenger ship? Then the barrel started rolling again. My back hit the sides of the round, wooden barrel and stopped quite abruptly as I started spinning on a different course. When the barrel stopped - on its side, I might add - I scratched at my leg and arms, regretting the white tank top, red vest, and blue, knee-length shorts I had chosen to wear for my journey. I pulled my straw hat up onto my head so my neck-length black hair wouldn't get tangled in the splintery, scratchy wood. After a little bit, I drifted back to sleep._

Again, I was awaken by someone just outside the barrel. They seemed to be talking to themselves, as if deciding what to do with it. I rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, when, of course, more voices. They were arguing and it sounded like three to one. The barrel was lifted and slammed down into its upright position. This woke me up completely. I felt refreshed and yawned a bit. This barrel was tight and I couldn't sit in there any longer, so, with all my strength, I slammed my fists into the top. It cracked and scattered under my blow. I yawned and smiled, happy I was out. My fist connected with something else, but I ignored it. I stretched and smiled.

"What a nice nap!" I said, opening my eyes to see four people: a boy, three pirates, one of which who was on the ground. I turned, facing the two pirates who were staring at me strangely. I set my hands on my hips. "Who're you guys?" I asked.

_"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?" _they yelled back.

"I'm Luffy!" I said. "Your friend's gonna catch a cold if he sleeps on the floor, ya' know," I continued, stretching out my arms some more and climbing out the barrel.

"_YOU DID THAT_!" they yelled. I turned away from them, facing the boy who cowered under my gaze.

"You got any food?" I inquired.

_"DON'T IGNORE US!" _the pirates behind me yelled. I turned my head a bit to look at them. The one with a tattoo over his eye glared.

"Don't you know we're pirates!?" he yelled. Then I turned away again, looking at the boy, waiting for his answer. He was too scared. I sighed and stood up straight. However, the sharp edge of the pirate's sword was lined up just below my nose. I brought up a finger and pushed it away. when I stood straight, the sharp edge of a sword was lined up just below my nose. Then, the boy looked up. I looked back. Those two were coming at me with their swords again. The boy screamed and closed his eyes.

In a few seconds, the tips of the now-broken swords were flying at the ceiling. I glanced at the two men who had attacked me.

"That wasn't very nice," I growled menacingly. The happy atmosphere I had disappeared the more annoyed I became. They scrambled up, grabbing their friend and hauling themselves out. Now, happy that I had won. I laughed and looked around, ignoring whatever that kid was saying. I sniffed the air when a sweet-smelling breeze blew in through a crack in a nearby door. I started walking away.

"Wait! Wait! Hey! Are you even listening to me!?" the boy shouted. I struggled to walk at my normal speed because he was dragging behind me, gripping at my waist. As the door closed, he let go and looked inside the small, dark, room I had burst into.

"Food! Food! Banzai! Food!" I shouted. That white air floating around aimlessly appeared more vivid as I looked from box to box. "Oh, what's in here? That looks good!" I settled down and started eating out of the box of fruit in front of me.

"Um, Luffy-san?" the boy asked. I looked at him.

"Who're you?" I asked.

"I-I'm Coby," he replied. I nodded, then continued eating. "L-Luffy-san? Are you a pirate?" he asked.

"Sure am!" I smiled.

"Well, then, you need to get out of here! This ship's being over run by a pirate named Alvida!" If Alvida-sama finds you..." he trailed off, shivering at the thought. I stood.

"It's okay! I'm strong! Are you a pirate, Coby?" I asked. Coby looked down.

"Well, that was a very fateful day. That boat I stepped in... I was intending to go fishing..."

Coby finished his story, and I laughed.

"You're stupid!" I giggled. He sighed.

"How can you say that?" he whined as I stood up.

"Why don't you just run away?" I asked.

"Run away!? Impossible! If Alvida-sama caught me..." He shivered again.

"You're a coward. I don't like you." I scratched my head. I giggled again. Coby sighed. He looked over at me.

"You said you were a pirate?"

"Yep!"

"Where's your crew?"

"Don't have one yet, but I'm looking!"

"Where's your boat?"

"It got caught in a whirlpool!"

"THAT WHIRLPOOL!? You should be dead!"

"Well, it sure was surprising!"

"Why did you decide to be a pirate?" he asked. I set a hand on my hat.

"I wanna be the Pirate King!"

"What!?"

I nodded. Coby started rambling on. "The Pirate King is one who has everything in the world!" I nodded again, "Fame, wealth, power!" I kept nodding, "All those things in one person! You want to be that person!? It's impossible to stand on top in the era of great pirates! Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! Im -" I punched him in the head. "Why'd you punch me!?"

"Just because," I said.

"But why!? Why do you want to be the Pirate King!?" he asked.

"Because I want to do it. It's my dream, and I'll follow it until I die. And, if I die along the way, well, that's just how it was meant to be," I stated, staring at my special hat.

I waved as I walked away from Coby. He was muttering to himself, then he said something loud enough for me to hear.

"Can I do that? Can I fulfill my dream?" I glanced around at him and shrugged. "No, I will do it! I will become a Marine!" He stood.

"A Marine?" I looked at him strangely.

"Yes! And I'll capture horrible pirates like Alvida! No! I will catch Alvida!" he said confidently. I smiled. Then the ceiling cracked. I looked up as the room filled with smoke.

"Making a friend like this... Who are you gonna catch? Huh? COBY!?" a voice yelled as the smoke cleared up. I rubbed my eyes and looked forward to see what might have been the ugliest person ever. I put a hand on my hip, narrowing my brow in disgust at the thing in front of me. I ignored the swords that had sliced through the door in attempt to kill me and looked around her to Coby, who was cowering behind his own arms. The woman's eyes fell on me and she smirked an ugly smirk. "You're not the pirate hunter Zoro." She snickered, taking in my childish build (apart from my chest).

"Zoro?" I murmured. What a weird name. I shrugged it off when she screamed again.

"COBY!" she yelled, making the smaller boy screech. "Who's the most beautiful woman on this ocean?" she asked. Coby cowered, struggling to get out a proper answer.

"Who's this fat lady?" I finally asked. The room fell silent. I felt all eyes on me. They were wide with fear. Except for the woman I was pointing at, of course. Her eyes were wide with rage. I noticed a bunch of veins popping from her head. She glared at me and raised her club.

"YOU BRAT!" she yelled, swinging down. I dodged and landed next to Coby. Sure, he was an annoying coward, but he did just speak his mind to me. I respect that.

"Let's go," I whispered, a huge grin on my face. He glanced at me through his arms and I smiled even wider.

Next thing I know, I had jumped out the hole in the ceiling with Coby gripping my arm for dear life. I landed in front of a bunch of pirates who were armed with swords. I looked at them, smiling from under my straw hat.

"You!" one yelled, brave enough to face me. I let go of Coby and flipped back, laughing and hopping out of the way of each blow. I finally punched him in the gut and he went down. Next, a person came from behind. I whipped around and punched him as well. Coby screamed and I turned to the four other men who attacked. I jumped up and out of the way, landing a few feet back. I stood, giving them a trademark smile while I stretched out my arm. I heard the screaming of someone attacking me from behind. I easily dodged and picked him up.

"It's not very nice to attack a lady from behind," I said. I grinned, throwing him into his friends. I looked back and about ten other people were poised and ready to attack me from behind. I ran away, screaming like a little girl. "It's not fair to gang up on a helpless girl!" I yelled in my defense. I used my Yin-Yang Whip, tying it around the mast. I kept running and it extended like a pole of white light. I screamed loudly. Turning to see if the screaming did anything, the confused faces of the pirates looked at me. I stopped screaming. "Just kidding," I said, winking. They all screamed, running away. I started gathering energy in my feet.

"Yin-Yang... Rocket!" I yelled, propelling myself forward and using the retracting whip to gain more momentum. I slammed into the pirates, sending them flying in every direction. Alvida stared at me from the hole in the ship.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" she yelled. Her and Coby stared in awe I as I got up.

Coby walked up to me.

"Um, Luffy-san? What _are_ you!?" he asked, voice raising. I made a show, a small airy Yin-Yang sign floating in my palm.

"I'm a living version of 'Yin' and 'Yang!'" I smiled, letting the sign dissipate.

"Yin and yang? That's... uh..." Coby stopped to look behind him. He scrambled behind me when he was met with Alvida's huge stomach.

"A Devil's Fruit user, huh..." she muttered.

"Yep! I ate the Yin-Yang Fruit." I grinned.

"I never knew Devil's Fruits really existed. I thought they were rumors," she mumbled fiercely.

"Yeah, well, you thought wrong. Now you're fat _and_ stupid." I laughed. Alvida glared angrily at me. I noticed that another vein popped.

"WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY TO ME!? HUH!? COBY!?" Coby squealed.

"Luffy-san! Have you seen the power of that club? A person that stron -" Coby stopped mid-sentence, just staring at me. Then, he stopped cowering.

"She... she said... nothing but the truth!" Coby yelled, sticking out his tongue. The ship fell silent. I, on the other hand, broke out laughing at his remark.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" she yelled again. Coby stood his ground. I laughed more and more.

"Y-You heard me! I'm going to be a Marine! And I'll beat and capture pirates like you!" he shouted.

"Are you so sure, little boy!?" Alvida growled.

"I am! I'll do what I want! You don't own me!" Coby yelled, sticking his tongue out again.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Alvida raised he club. Coby stood there, his mouth opening and letting out a scream. The only thing I did was jump in front of him and clap my hands together.

"Well said!" I responded, grinning. I spread out my arms and a white shield blocked the club from me and Coby. The club landed on it hard. Coby stared up in disbelief. I smiled.

"A shield that blocks out all things bad," I explained.

"What!?" Alvida gasped.

"Because it's yin," I said, pushing the club up and away from me. I pointed my fist forward.

"Yin-Yang..." I began as my fist glowed with black and white light. "PISTOL!" I yelled, punching the energy forward. Alvida screamed as she was sent flying off the ship. Everyone stared at me with fear and awe. "Hey!" I shouted at the pirates residing on the other boat.

"Yes, ma'am!" They stood straight.

"Give Coby a boat. He's gonna join the Marines. So let him go, alright?" I grinned. They continued to stare before stuttering.

"Yes! Yes ma'am!" they said. Coby smiled.

"Luffy-san..." He sighed happily.

A bomb hit the area around the boats. Coby and I staggered and looked out at the sea to see Marines sailing over.

"It's the Marines!" Coby gasped.

"Oh! That's great! Why don't you go?" I smiled at Coby.

"What?" Coby looked at me as I hopped over the ship's railing onto the small dingy below.

"I'm a pirate! Time to bail!" I yelled.

"L-Luffy-san! Wait for me! They'd arrest me before I could even ask to join!" he stuttered, half-jumping half-falling over the railing behind me. The boat fell, making a large splash and crashing in the water below. I looked to the side, holding my hat down. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as my eyes met with the eyes of an orange-haired girl who was tying up a bag in the boat I landed next to. She let out a scream as we stared at each other and water flew up, pushing the boats apart and blinding me.

Later, Coby and I were sailing through the open sea.

"I can't believe we got away," Coby mumbled, sighing. I giggled and sat down, rocking back and fourth.

"Yep, but it was fun!" I smiled. Then I broke out in a fit of bubbly giggles.

"Um, Luffy-san?" Coby asked, after looking around for a while.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"If you're going to be the Pirate King, that means you're going after One Piece. And that means you're heading to the Grand Line, right?" he asked. I made a noise of agreement. "You know, it's called the Graveyard of Pirates."

"That's why I'm getting a strong crew!" I smiled back at him. Then I laid down and rolled over to my stomach. "So, this pirate hunter, what type of person is he?" I asked.

"Who, Zoro?" he asked. He thought for a second. "He was captured by the Marines," he finally said.

"Oh, so he's weak." I puffed out my cheeks.

"No way! He's a terrifying beast!" Coby yelled, "Wait. Why are you asking me this?" he asked. I smiled.  
"If he was a good person, maybe I'd make him part of my crew!" I answered happily. Coby's mouth hung open.

"You're doing something reckless again."

"He might be a good guy!" I smiled again.

"HE'S OBVIOUSLY A BAD GUY IF HE'S BEEN ARRESTED!" Coby yelled. "It's impossible! Impossible! Impossible! Im -" I hit him. "Why'd you hit me!?" he whined.

"Just because." I shrugged.

___**Meanwhile, on an island near Luffy and Coby, a lone man stood tied to a cross. He was covered in dirt and bruises, wearing a white shirt, black pants, a green sash around his waist, and a green bandana on his head. He shifted with a strange feeling, looking up at the large, green, Marine gate in front of him as if expecting someone to be there.**_

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_


	4. The Great Swordsman Appears!

I hopped off the boat, taking in the sight of the bustling town before me.

"We're here!" I cheered. "The town where the Marines are!" I smiled before taking off into the town with Coby close behind.

"Luffy-san! It's not a good idea, wanting Zoro on your crew!" Coby said as I looked at all the different shops.

"I haven't decided if he's a good person or not," I said.

"HE'S BEEN ARRESTED BECAUSE HE'S A BAD GUY!" Coby stopped to yell. I paused at one that had some yummy-looking fruit. I bit into one.

"Wow, that's good!" I flipped a coin to the shop owner. "Hmm, I wonder if Zoro's at the Marine base..." I wondered aloud. The whole town stopped and screamed, moving away from me. I looked around at all the scared expressions.

"It seems like Zoro's name is taboo here," Coby whispered. I shrugged and we continued walking.

"Anyway, I can leave you at the base when I go to meet Zoro," I said to Coby.

"Well, that was the idea... but I'm not ready yet..." he muttered. "I heard Captain Morgan is in charge of this base, and he's really tough." He smiled. Again, the townspeople stopped and ran off to the side, screaming at the name. But no one had said Zoro...

"What's with these people? What an interesting town!" I laughed while Coby muttered to himself.

"It's strange... I understand Zoro, but why would they be scared of a Marine Captain?" he asked me. Like I knew. "It worries me..." He trailed off as we continued to walk through the town.

"Maybe they like it!" I giggled at the thought of them doing that every day and all the time. So funny.

"I doubt it," Coby said.

Eventually, we came to the big gate and brick wall of the Marines' headquarters. We stared up at it and I smiled.

"Alright! Here it is!" I gave Coby's shoulder a playful shove.

"I'm finally here!" Coby said with tears in his eyes. "Luffy-san, this is where we part ways," he said as I started up the large wall. "Ah! Luffy-san!" He said when he saw me struggling to get a grip. "What are you doing!?" he yelled.

"Where's that demon?" I looked around the large field in front of me.

"He wouldn't be here! He's probably in a dungeon or something," he responded just as I spotted a man tied to a cross. It must be him! I hopped down.

"There he is!" I smiled. I ran to the side to get a closer view. I climbed up on the wall again, peering over the edge to see a man, taller than me. White shirt, black pants, green waist band and a bandana. He looked dead, actually. I pointed, "See! Right there! That guy!" I smiled at Coby.

"He can't be here," Coby said, turning his head to follow my gaze. Coby gasped. We stayed like that. Staring in silence.

"Hey, so if we untie that rope he can escape, right?" I smiled at the thought of having a first mate.

"_DON'T BE STUPID_!" Coby yelled at me. "WHAT DO YOU THINK'LL HAPPEN IF HE'S SET FREE!? HE'LL PROBABLY KILL YOU, LUFFY-SAN!" I shrugged.

"I can beat him. I'm strong." I smiled confidently. Coby let his face fall on the bricks we were leaning on.

"Hey, you guys!" the man, Zoro, yelled from the post he was on. We both turned our attention to him. Coby cowered, I simply stared. "You're bothering me," he growled. He then looked up at us. "Get lost," he commanded. Coby screamed and moved closer to me.

"Luffy-san! If you recruit him, then he'll kill you no matter how many lives you have!" he yelled at me. He was interrupted by the tapping of a ladder on the wall. A small girl climbed up and held up a finger to her mouth, motioning for us to be quiet. Then she looked around and climbed over the wall, running to where Zoro was. Coby screamed. "Hey! That's dangerous! Luffy-san, stop her! She'll be killed!" Coby yelled frantically. I rolled my eyes and watched as the little girl made her way across to Zoro and presented him with something that looked like food. I listened closely to what was going on over there now.

The little girl held the food, onigiri, up to him.

"What?" Zoro asked in a lighter voice than when he addressed us.

"Aren't you hungry? I made you some food!" The girl smiled.

"Look shorty, you're gonna get killed. Go away," he said. The girl ignored him and untied the bag she had in her hand.

"But you haven't eaten anything!" she protested. The she held up the onigiri. "Here!" she said, "It's my first time, but I made them as best I could!" Zoro stuttered then raised his voice a bit.

"I'm not hungry!" he said. "You're annoying! Go home!" His voice was enough for shooing her off.

"But I can't just -"

"Don't make me hurt you!" Zoro snapped. The gate at the far end of the field opened, catching everyone's attention.

"Picking on little girls, huh? You should be nicer, Roronoa Zoro." I looked over and saw a blonde man accompanied by some Marines walking over.

"Oh, look!" I nudged Coby. He sighed in relief.

"Thank God. The Marines. That girl should be safe now." He smiled contently. I leaned in and watched, shifting uncomfortably, my chest pressed up against the wall. I ignored the slight pain and watched.

"Oh hey, that onigiri looks pretty good." The blonde man leered down and snatched a rice ball from the small napkin.

"Hey!" The little girl shouted. Then the Marine spit in disgust.

"EW! GROSS!" he yelled. "THERE'S SUGAR IN HERE! ONIGIRI ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MADE WITH SALT! SALT!" he scolded her.

"I thought it would taste better with sugar," the girl mumbled dejectedly.

"Well, you thought wrong!" he yelled. He slapped the last onigiri out of her hand and stomped it into the dirt.

"Stop! Stop it!" the girl cried.

"How horrible," Coby muttered, horrified. I watched as the girl had tears running down her face at the sight of the ruined onigiri.

"I tried to make it as best I could," she sniffled.

"'Anyone who helps the criminal will be executed.' - Marine Captain Morgan," the man recited. "Haven't you read the poster? You know my father's power, right?" He pulled a paper out of his coat and looked it over. The girl yelped in fear.

"Father?" I asked Coby.

"He must be Morgan's son," Coby whispered. Then the man gave an order to throw her out the base. When the Marines tried to object, they were threatened. The girl was thrown towards the wall we were sitting at. I pushed off and caught her, using my Yin shield to land safely on the ground.

Coby jumped down to us.

"Luffy-san!" he called. "Are you alright?" he asked. I showed him the shield.

"A shield that blocks out all things bad, remember?" I smiled. He nodded and we looked at the girl who smiled at us.

"Thank you!" she said to me.

"No problem!" I grinned.

By the time I was able to find my hat and climb back over the wall, that stupid son was gone. I stood a little ways away from Zoro. He noticed and looked up at me.

"So you're a bad guy?" I asked.

"You're still here," he said, looking me over.

"Being humiliated like that, are you really as strong as I've heard?" I asked.

"Mind your own business." His face was tinted red as he turned away, maybe all this not eating was making him sick. I walked over to him.

"I would have been out in three days tops," I bragged.

"Well, I'm not you, missy. I'll survive to prove them wrong." He smirked. "Definitely."

"You're very stubborn," I commented. Then I turned to walk away.

"Wait!" he called after me.

"What?" I turned.

"Hand me that onigiri," he muttered. I picked it up off the ground.

"This thing? It's not much of food more than it is dirt." I muttered.

"Just give it!" he yelled. I shrugged.

"Ahhh!" I said, holding it in front of his face. His face went red again and he opened up. I placed the dirt-ball-food-thing into his mouth.

"Told you," I said when he started coughing.

"It was delicious," he muttered. I smirked. "Thanks for the food."

I told the girl that he ate it all. She was so happy and excited. She told us why Zoro was locked up and how mean that Marine son was to him everyday. Zoro had protected their restaurant from the son, Helemeppo, and his savage "pet." He went to jail so the townsfolk wouldn't be executed.

"So that's what happened," Coby said just as a crash came from the restaurant. We ran inside. Helemeppo was in there. We stood by and watched as he demanded free food and it was brought to him. He began to speak to himself.

"So, I'm tired of waiting. I've decided to execute Zoro tomorrow." He laughed, sipping his wine. I glared. The black air surrounded me as I gave into my anger. I flashed across the room in a black blur and punched Helemeppo in the face. He yelled and went flying back into the wall. He scrambled up.

"Who!? Who did that!" he stuttered. Coby was behind me.

"Luffy-san! Control yourself!" He held me back.

"He's trash," I growled, the black air coming off in waves.

"You! You hit me!" he yelled. "I'm Captain Morgan's son!" he yelled again.

"So what!?" I snarled. My eyes flashed black and he screamed.

"I-I'll tell my dad and have you killed!" he stuttered.

"Why don't you do something for yourself now?!" I challenged, about to lose control all together.

"Luffy-san! Please calm down!" Coby begged. I tried to calm down.

"I've decided, Coby. Zoro will join my crew!" I proclaimed.

I was back at the Marine base. Again, I was standing a few feet away from Zoro who was lost in thought and just noticed I was there again.

"Oh, it's you. You have too much free time." He chuckled.

"I'll untie you and you'll join me," I said.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"I'm looking for people to join my pirate crew."

"No way!" he yelled, but then he smiled. "You want me to be a bad guy? How annoying." He shook his head.

"What's wrong with pirates?"

"Pirates are scum! Who'd wanna be one?"

"Does it matter? You're already known as an evil pirate hunter."

"I don't care what the public says. I regret nothing. I'll survive, and do what I want!"

"Oh, is that so. But I've already decided you'd be my comrade."

"YOU CAN'T DECIDE THAT BY YOURSELF!" he yelled as I crossed my arms.

"Whatever. You're a swordsman, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, but my swords were taken by that ugly blonde kid," he grumbled.

"Then I'll get them back!" I stated.

"What?"

"When I return them, you'll have to join me." I smiled.

"How dense are you!?" he shouted.

"I'll be back!" I yelled, ignoring him and running to the base. Zoro just stared, but eventually called out to me. "That's the wrong way!"

I turned. "Oh! Thanks!" I used my Yin-Yang Rocket to fly to the base.

I looked up at the large base. No one was around, but there was a lot of noise coming from above. I looked up and smiled.

"Time to fly!" I grinned, using my Yin-Yang Rocket once more to soar up the side of the building. I gripped a rope to make a fast stop and it snapped as I swung off it, the whole top of a statue falling into the ocean behind. Everyone was silent. "Ah! I am so sorry!" I bowed repeatedly.

"CATCH THAT GIRL! I'll KILL HER!" a large man yelled.

"Right away, sir!" the troops yelled.

"That's the girl who punched me!" that stupid son yelled. I ran over to him.

"I was looking for you!" I smiled. "Come with me!" I grabbed him and ran through a door and down some stairs. I dragged him across the hallway. "Where are Zoro's swords?" I asked. He didn't answer. "Hey!" I yelled.

"STOP DRAGGING ME AND I'll TELL YOU!" he yelled. I stopped and swung him up to face me.

"Talk," I ordered.

"In my room, we just passed it," he replied, coughing.

"Ah! Why didn't you say so? Now we have to go back!" I turned and was face-to-face with two guns. True, I could have used my shield, but...

"Back off pirate! We'll shoot!" one yelled. I smirked, holding the stupid son in front of me.

"Go ahead. I don't care," I said.

"Helemeppo-sama!" they yelled in surprise. Then they backed off and let me pass. I giggled as we reached the stupid son's room.

"That was funny!" I said, running to the swords that were leaning against the wall. There were three. "Hey! Which one's Zoro's?" I asked. But he was unconscious. I shrugged, dropped him, and grabbed all three. Then I looked out the window. Coby was held at gunpoint. Lots of gunpoints. Zoro and Coby were in trouble! I strapped the swords the the hem of my pants and rocketed myself out the window.

"COBY! ZORO!" I yelled, clapping my hands together. I spread out my Yin shield.

"You!" Zoro yelled.

"Luffy-san!" Coby shouted. All the bullets stopped.

"Won't work on me!" I smiled. Then I closed my hands into fists. "Yang!" I yelled. The shield turned black. All the bullets were absorbed by and shot back at the Marines. I ran back to Zoro and smiled.

"What are you!?" he asked.

"I'm Yin and I'm Yang, and I'm also Monkey D. Luffy! Nice to meet you!" I smiled.

******TO BE CONTINUED...**

******I forgot to mention that Luffy could do that last move (four paragraphs ago). Oops!**


	5. Luffy vs Morgan!

I told Zoro about my goal. He couldn't believe it.

"W-what!? Pirate King!? Do you even understand what you're saying!?" he asked. I smiled and nodded.

"The Pirate King is the Pirate King. There's not anything else to it." I shrugged.

"Yeah! Luffy-san may not seem like it, but she's a very serious person. It's just who she is. She'll be the Pirate King and find the One Piece!" Coby smiled. I smiled back and giggled at his praise.

"Here! Your sword," I said, holding up the three. "I didn't know which one was yours so I just grabbed them all." I grinned.

"They're all mine. I use three swords," he said.

"Oh." I pushed them forward again. "You'll take them, right? But, if we fight together, you owe me. What'll it be? Come with me or be left to die? Huh?" I smiled evilly. Zoro chuckled.

"No wonder you're yin and yang. Very two-sided, aren't you? So much different from the girl who fed me. Fine. I'd rather be a pirate than die here!" I cheered.

"Yay! You'll be my comrade!" I exclaimed, swinging around his swords. "Alright! Perfect! This is great!" I yelled.

"Yes, yes, we're all happy! Now set me free!" Zoro yelled. I looked over and smiled.

"Oh, sure!" I said, then I started to tug at the ropes.

"Hurry!" Coby yelled.

"I can't untie this knot," I muttered, pulling and tugging.

"STOP SCREWING AROUND!" Zoro yelled. The boys looked to the side at the battle cries I was trying to ignore.

"So weird. The knots getting tighter," I said under my breath.

"GIVE ME MY SWORDS!" Zoro yelled.

"Luffy-san!" Coby screamed.

"Huh?" I looked over and the Marines attacked.

There was the slice of a sword and Zoro was standing in front of me, holding the Marines at bay with his weapons.

"So cool!" I cheered.

"Make one move and you're dead," Zoro warned the Marines. Then he looked at me. "I promised to be a pirate. Opposing the Marines will make me a wanted man. But, I'll tell you one thing. I will follow my own dream!"

"Your dream?"

"To be the greatest swordsman in the world!"

"That's great!" I smiled at him. "As a comrade of the Pirate King, I wouldn't expect anything less," I said.

"Indeed. I'll be known around this world, be it as a devil or a saint." I stopped for a moment. "But, if you try and stop me from attaining my dream, I will end your life with these swords," he stated. I chuckled when Morgan demanded we be executed. I made two long whip-like rods: one black, one white. I smiled.

"Duck, Zoro!" I spun them and he moved. "Yin-Yang... Whip!" I yelled, swinging them into the marines.

"Awesome!" Coby cheered.

"What _are_ you?" Zoro asked.

"I told you! I'm yin and I'm yang! I ate the Yin-Yang Fruit!" I grinned, making the yin-yang sign float in my palm.

"The Yin-Yang Fruit?" he repeated. I nodded and the Marines backed up.

"A Yin-Yang human?" they muttered. Morgan shouted above them.

"So she ate a Devil's Fruit," he muttered.

"Captain! We're no match for her!" the Marines protested.

"We can't do it!"

"And she has Zoro on her side!" they yelled. Morgan glared at us as we looked his way.

"This is an order. Anyone complaining, shoot themselves. I don't need weaklings like you," he said.

"What's wrong with these Marines?" Zoro got into a fighting position.

"Luffy-san!" Coby yelled. My anger took over and I ran forward past a surprised Zoro. The black air was coming off me. How could someone be so cruel? I heard a yell. It was Coby. "Crush those Marines!" he yelled. I ran faster. I charged through the Marines and up to Morgan, punching at him. He blocked me and my fist hit his axe. I jumped back.

"A civilian with no rank has no chance against me! I'm a captain of the Marines! Axe-Hand Morgan!" Morgan yelled loudly.

"I'm Luffy! Nice to meet you!" I smiled, jumping up as he swung at me.

"_Die_!" he yelled. I flipped over him. He swung around and sliced at the ground, making a large crack where I used to be. I pushed down with both my feet. They connected hard with his face and sent him flying back. "You brat..." He glared, getting up. I charged him again and he sliced down. "_DIE_!" he yelled again.

"Don't wanna!" I squealed, spinning to a stop. I stopped spinning and kicked him in his jaw again. He went flying, fell down, and stayed down. I earned some surprised murmurs from the Marines.

I sat on his chest.

"What kinda Marine are you?" I punched him. "Destroying Coby's dream like this!" I punched him again. And again. And again.

"WAIT! Straw-Hat! Look over here!" an annoying voice yelled. I ignored it and continued to punch Morgan. "I said wait! Are you stupid!? Don't you see I have a hostage here!?" the voice yelled again.

"Hey," Zoro called and I looked over.

"If you care about his life, don't move! Try anything and I'll shoot!" that stupid son yelled. I climbed off Morgan and stood. Coby was standing with a gun being pointed at his head. He looked at me; I looked back. Then, I gave him a reassuring smile. He didn't look so scared anymore.

"Luffy-san! Don't worry about me! I don't want tp stand in your way, even if I die!" Coby yelled at me.

"I know!" I giggled. "Give up, stupid son! Coby's for real!" I smiled. I started making my way over to him.

"S-stop! I said don't move! I'll shoot!" the stupid son yelled. Coby's eyes got really wide.

"Luffy-san! Behind you!" he shouted. I started gathering energy in my hand.

"Yin-Yang -"

"I am a captain of the Marines!" Morgan yelled from behind. I ignored him. Zoro put his sword in his mouth.

"Father! Hurry and kill him!" the stupid son yelled., holding the gun to Coby more steadily.

"Pistol!" I finished saying, punching the energy at the stupid son. The axe stopped a few inches above my head and the son went flying back. "Nice..." I smiled, pressing my back against the taller one behind me. Morgan grumbled and fell back either dead or unconscious. The person stood straight. "Zoro!" He turned his head a bit to look at me.

"It was nothing, Captain," he smirked. My eyes grew a bit wide. He'd called me "Captain," and it made me happy. The white air floated off as my smiled grew wide and a bubbly giggle escaped my throat.

All the Marines looked at us.

"They defeated the captain," one said.

"I can't believe it. Who are they?" another asked. Zoro and I stood side-by-side.

"If anyone else wants to attack, come now," he said. All the troops looked at each other, then, in a shout of joy. The Marines threw their weapons into the air.

"Hurray!" they yelled. They were all cheering. Zoro and I looked at each other, confused. Coby came up.

"Everyone hated Morgan! They must be happy that they're free!" He smiled. We high-fived. I turned to Zoro, who grunted and fell back on the ground.

"Ah! Zoro-san!" Coby shouted worriedly.

"So hungry," he muttered. I leaned over him.

"Are you alright?" I asked. His face turned red and he passed out. "Zoro?" I giggled. "You're so stupid." I laughed before picking him up and half-dragging him to that little girl's restaurant. Coby following close behind.

At the restaurant, Zoro sat back in his chair.

"Ah! I'm full! I haven't eaten like that in weeks!" He sighed happily. I shoved another piece of meat in my mouth.

"What? Don't you want more?" I leaned over, grabbing a piece of untouched meat from his plate and eating it.

"How can you eat more than me? You're so scrawny and small. I don't get it," he grumbled, pointing at my pile of empty plates.

"'Cause it's good! Right, Coby?" I smiled at my pink-haired friend, who blushed.

"I helped my self, too. Sorry." He laughed.

"It's fine. You three saved our town!" The owner-lady smiled at us.

"You were awesome, onee-san!" The little girl smiled up at me. I nodded.

"I am great, aren't I? I'll be even greater when I become Pirate King." I laughed. I poked Zoro's arm. "I found a new comrade, too!" I smiled. Zoro smiled.

"So, how many people on your crew?" he asked.

"Hm?" I looked at him.

"Surely you already have a crew. Aren't you looking for new members?" he inquired. I shook my head.

"Nope, you're my first mate!" I smiled.

"WHAT!? So it's just -" He pointed at me and himself.

"Sure is! Just us!" I nodded.

"Can just the two of us be pirates?"

"It's fine, We're strong!"

"The ship. Where's our ship." I felt like it wasn't much of a question.

"Don't got one yet! I'm using that out there!" I pointed at the small boat I had sailed here with along with Coby. Zoro looked out the window.

"That..." Zoro muttered.

"But soon, we'll have a big ship! It'll be great!" Zoro laughed.

"How do you plan to do that?" he asked. I ignored that question.

"I want a flag, too..." I trailed off, imagining myself standing at the head, sword pointed out to an island. I smiled at the thought. "So cool!" I grinned, mouth full of food.

"Luffy-san was born without planning abilities," Coby explained when he saw how annoyed Zoro looked.

"Do I really have to follow this girl?" Zoro mumbled to himself.

"So, we'll get more comrades as we go along!" I said happily.

I popped more food in my mouth.

"Where are you going now?" the little girl asked me.

"The Grand Line, of course!" I smiled. Coby spit out his drink.

"WHAT!? JUST THE TWO OF YOU!? That's impossible! Impossible, impossible, impossible! Absolutely imposs -"

"Is the Grand Line really that horrible?" the girl interrupted.

"Of course it is!" Coby exclaimed. He explained some stuff about the Grand Line I already knew so I ignored him.

"A customer once said whoever goes to the Grand Line never comes back," the owner said. I turned to face her.

"But One Piece is there, so we have to go," I said.

"Then we have no choice." Zoro leaned back in his chair.

"You too, Zoro-san?!" Coby cried.

'Why do you care? You're not going," Zoro said.

"But I still worry. Can't I worry about my friends?" Coby mumbled. "We.. are friends, right?" He looked up at us.

"We may part ways, but we'll always be friends!" I smiled at Coby. He looked down.

"I've never had real friends before. When I was little, I never stood up for myself and no one stood up for me. Thank you, Luffy-san, Zoro-san. Because of you, I've learned to work hard for my goals! I'll make my dream come true! I'll be a Marine!" he proclaimed.

"Rather than worrying about us, you should watch out for yourself," Zoro said. "Even though you were forced, you still worked for Alvida. If the Marines find out, you can't join."

"Speaking of which..." Coby looked at the door. It opened.

Marines stood at the open door.

"Is it true you are pirates?" the leader asked.

"Yes it is! This is my new comrade!" I motioned to Zoro.

"We are grateful that you saved us, but we must ask you to leave this place immediately. Now that we know you're pirates, we can not look the other way," the leader continued over the protests of the villagers. "We owe you our lives, so we won't contact Headquarters," he finished. I smiled.

"Well, let's go, Zoro," I said, standing up. "Thank you for the meal." I bowed to the owner and started out with my new comrade, leaving Coby behind.

"Wait!" the leader-Marine yelled. "Isn't he with you?" he asked. I turned.

"Who, Coby?" I asked. "I know all about Coby." I walked over and patted his head. "There was a big, fat, ugly, pirate lady! This guy worked for her for two years!" I poked his cheek. Coby was frozen in place. Was he gonna do it? Was he? Coby whipped around and I allowed him to punch me. I blocked it with a small Yin Shield. I stood up, pretending to be angry.

"You've done it now!" I tackled him to the ground, punching anywhere I could hit. Zoro pulled me up.

"Hey, that's enough!" the Marine yelled. "It's clear he's not with you! Leave now!" he yelled. I smoothed out my shirt and left with Zoro, leaving Coby behind for good this time.

I stood at the bay with Zoro, untying the rope that was holding the boat in place.

"Maybe you're not such an idiot. That was a good plan," Zoro said to me.

"Thanks." I smiled.

"What if they find out?" he asked.

"I'm sure Coby can handle himself." I shrugged.

"Well, it was a fun experience. Everyone hates us now. The life of a pirate."

"Yep!" I finished and threw the rope onto the boat.

"Luffy-san!" We turned and saw Coby, standing a little ways off. Had he come back to be a pirate? No, he put a hand to his hand up in a salute. "Thank you! This Marine will never forget you or your kindness!" He grinned. Zoro nudged me.

"I've never heard of a Marine thanking a pirate before." He laughed.

"How strange." I giggled. We set sail. I waved from the boat. "Bye-bye, Coby! We'll meet again!" I called. All the Marines were there now. They saluted as we sailed into the distance.

I stared ahead, Zoro smiling at me from behind.

"Alright! We're on our way to becoming pirates!" I smiled.

"Looks like it'll be one hell of an adventure." Zoro chuckled.

"Sure is!" I smiled. I squealed. "I'll become the Pirate King!" I yelled, spinning around.

"You keep rambling on about that. Why do you want to be the Pirate King, anyway? Any particular reason?" Zoro asked.

"There's no reason. But," I began.

"But?" Zoro sounded confused.

"I made a promise to that man. That'd we meet again as great pirates." I pulled off my hat and held it out to him. "This straw hat knows it all!" I smiled. He stood next to me and put a hand on my uncovered head.

"I see." He smiled. I playfully moved his hand and placed my straw hat back in its spot. Zoro and I stood and looked out at the sea. The sunset was calm that day. I let out a happy sigh. This was gonna be great. I wrapped an arm around Zoro's neck.

"Alright! Let's go!" I pumped my free fist. "Grand Line! HERE I COME!" I smiled widely.


	6. Luffy's Past!

I leaned against the inside of the boat, my arms hanging over the edge and skimming the calm water. Zoro and I had no idea where we were heading and there was only one thing on my mind at that moment,

"I'm so hungry!" I moaned, staring blankly at the sea.

'When were we reach land?" Zoro asked. I glanced back at him. He was leaning coolly against the other side of the small boat.

"Who knows." I shrugged. "We go where the wind and sea take us." I rolled over to my back and faced Zoro. "'Will we reach land at all?' is the question." I groaned. Zoro sighed at my lack of planning. "I'm sure we will, someday." I looked forward at the sea, then back to Zoro. He leaned forward a bit.

"Isn't it strange?" he started. "That you want to be Pirate King yet have no navigation skills?" he asked.

"It is not strange," I said, leaning back over to face the water. "I just drift with the sea." I turned my head to look at Zoro. "What about you? Aren't you a pirate hunter of the sea?" I questioned. Zoro's face went red and he looked to the side, a scowl on his face.

"I don't recall ever being a pirate hunter," he said, looking back at me. He leaned back, looking up at the sky. "I went out to sea in search of a man. I couldn't return to my village. I turned in pirates as a way to get money and survive," he said. I laughed at Zoro for a bit.

"So what? You sound like you're just lost!" I giggled. His face went red again. Was he sick? He jumped forward.

"DON'T PUT IT THAT WAY!" he yelled, rocking the boat.

I yelped as the boat tilted back, I felt my hat leave my head. I looked up as it floated higher and higher. Zoro followed my gaze and I looked up at my hat that was floating away. Zoro was behind me. It floated up the sail of the boat.

"Shanks," I muttered as I ran forward and tried to catch it. Zoro just stared at it. I heard a voice in the back of my head. What had Shanks said to me?

_"____I've been through many battle with this straw hat and it's very important to me. I can't just give it to anyone. Not even you, Luffy."_

The hat floated up and over the sails. By this time, Zoro and I were chasing after it. We got to the end of the boat and I reached out.

"Oi!" Zoro grabbed my waist and held me close while he reached out to grab my hat.

___I know I've told you about my past, but I haven't said much at all. Like, Shanks. You met him when I ate that Devil's Fruit oh-so long ago. Maybe I didn't find it on a grand adventure I went on with Shanks, but it was close to the story I told you before. Wanna know what really happened? Fine. But to get more into that, we have to talk about Shanks..._

___I remember, I was little, Shanks had come back from his grand adventure. He flipped his hat onto his head. We were gazing at the bar, all the pirates singing and laughing. I smiled next to Shanks, my only friend in the village that wasn't Makino._

_"____So, yeah! Take me with you next time!" I pleaded with the larger man. Shanks looked down at me. He started laughing._

_"____How can a scrawny girl like you become a pirate?" he asked._

_"____I'm not scrawny!" I yelled._

_"____Luffy." It was Yasopp. I turned to face him. "It's not about how well you can swim. You have to be strong to be a pirate." He smiled._

_"____I can fight too! My punch is as strong as a pistol!" I demonstrated a punch in the air._

_"____If you think so," Shanks muttered._

_"____WHAT DO YA MEAN BY THAT!" I shouted at Shanks. The man next to Yasopp smiled._

_"____Little Luffy-chan is sill a kid though!" He bit into a piece of meat._

_"____You're like the same age as my kid!" Yasopp chuckled._

_"____I'm not a little girl! I'm a powerful pirate!" I snapped._

_"____Yeah yeah, don't get so angry. Here, I got you some juice." Shanks slid a cup over to me. I smiled and grabbed it with both my small hands._

_"____Thanks, Shanks!" I smiled, drinking it down. Shanks banged on the table a few time, getting the crew to look up._

_"____See! Just a little girl!" He, and everyone else, laughed._

_"____YOU SUCK, SHANKS!" I shouted, turning away from him. The pirates laughed even harder. "DON'T LAUGH AT ME!" I shouted at them. "WHAT THE HELL! STUPID SHANKS!" I shouted to no one. The pirates continued to laugh._

___Everything was silent when the door was kicked open. A man came in, he was big and had long black hair. He looked mean and was followed by a few more men._

_"____Sorry for the intrusion," the man said. Everyone stared at them except for Shanks, who kept eating. "So these are the so-called pirates," he said as he walked in. He put a hand down on the counter, making Shanks move away while swallowing some food. Makino rushed to where that man was. I turned and continued to drink what little juice I had left. When he left, things would be fun again, I guessed._

_"____Welcome!" Makino smiled._

_"____We're bandits on the move and we need ten barrels of saké," the bandit said._

_"____Sorry, we're out of saké at the moment," Makino said politely._

_"____What are the pirates drinking? It can't be water." The bandit sneered._

_"____Actually, all the saké we have is out there." Makino chuckled, referring to the pirates. The only sound was the clanking of Shanks's spoon against his plate._

_"____That's not fair," Shanks spoke. "We drank everything..." He thought for a moment, then reached in his shirt and pulled out an unopened bottle, "Here, you can have it. I haven't even opened it yet," he said. The bandit pulled out a sword and sliced the bottle. Glass and alcohol flew over at Shanks and I. I felt the glass pierce my hand as I set it on the table._

_"____I am a wanted man worth eight million beli. One bottle won't be enough." He glowered. Shanks bent down.  
"And now the floor's wet. Sorry, Makino. You got a mop?" He kept calm, picking up stray glass from the wet floor._

_"____Oh, no! I'll get it!" Makino went to come around the counter when the bandit sliced even more bottles that laid behind the counter._

_"____If you like to clean so much, clean that!" The bandit laughed as he left the bar. "Later, cowards."_

___Shanks sat still on the floor. Everyone was silent. I silently fumed. Part from my hurt hand, and part from Shanks sitting pathetically on the ground._

_"____Are you alright?" Makino asked._

_"____Yeah, it's fine," Shanks said, everything was quiet again until Shanks made an I'm-about-to-die-laughing noise. Then he broke out in a fit of laughter along with his crew._

_"____They got you good, captain!" someone yelled._

_"____Why are you laughing!?" I asked loudly. "That wasn't cool! Not at all!" I stomped onto the stool I was sitting on. "Why didn't you fight back!? I thought no matter how strong someone looked or how many people there are, pirates always fight back! If you don't fight back, don't call yourself a pirate!" I kept rambling. Shanks tried to calm me down._

_"____I understand, Luffy, but some spilled saké is nothing to get mad over, is it? No one got hurt." He grinned._

___"I don't care anymore!" I yelled, turning away._

___Now for what really happened. I noticed a box on the table. It was small. I opened it and there was a strange black and white fruit inside. I grabbed it and started eating. Shanks smiled up at me._

_"____Stuffing it down, Luffy?" he asked._

_"____Shut up!" I said in-between bites. Then I heard Shanks gasp._

_"____What are you eating!?" he yelled. I swallowed. Only half the fruit remained by now. I looked up at Shanks with a question-filled gaze. "That box! Did you eat what was in there?" he asked. I looked at the fruit._

_"____Was I not supposed to?" I asked. Shanks grabbed my arm and flipped my upside down, shaking me roughly._

_"____Spit it out! Spit it out now!" he yelled. I coughed._

_"____Stop it, Shanks!" I yelled, reaching up. S black beam blasted into Shanks and he let go of me in surprise. I looked at my hand. "What was that?" I asked._

_"____What you ate was the Yin-Yang Fruit!" Shanks yelled into my face as he lifted me up again. "It's also known as a Devil's Fruit! After eating it, your personality become unstable and you'll never be able to swim again!" he yelled._

_"____Wha- WHAT!? NO WAY!" I screamed back._

_"____YOU IDIOT!" Shanks shouted._

___It was the next day I found myself in a most unfortunate situation. I sat against a water pump, the bandit leaning over me with a scowl on his face._

___"We were having a nice time drinking saké. What's your problem, huh? Kid?" he asked scarily. I glared._

_"____Apologize!" I shouted. A boot connected with my already-bruised face. Or it tried to. I ____managed to use that happy air to make some sort of flimsy shield. Earlier, I had heard him making fun of Shanks. I didn't let it slide, I had shot out some of that angry air - yang, I think it was - at him and he flew back. That got him angry. So here I am._

_"____So I said something at angered you?"_

_"____You did!" I yelled, black air coming off in waves. I was more scared, though, but I had to be brave! I was going to be a pirate, damn it!_

_"____That was a poor choice of words, kid," the bandit said, thinking back._

___No one came to help me. (I told you they hated me.) I was probably about to be killed. That's what I thought, at least._

_"____Please wait! Let go of her! I beg of you!" I looked over and saw the mayor and Makino. "I'm not sure what Luffy did, but I don't want a fight! We'll even give you money!" He begged even more._

_"____Mayor," I muttered._

_"____Old people know just what to say, but people who piss me off don't get to live." He glared back at me, ignoring the mayor, who was on his knees._

_"____Bring it on, freaking mountain monkey!" I snapped. His glare intensified and he drew his sword._

_"____Hopeless brat," he mumbled._

___It would've been worse, but then I heard an annoyingly familiar voice._

_"____I wondered why no one was at the bar," Shanks's voice rang out. "If it isn't the bandit from before." He smirked._

_"____Captain-san!" Makino said hopefully. I looked and saw all of Shanks crew glaring daggers at the bandits._

_"____Shanks," I murmured._

___Shanks smirked at the state I was in._

_"____What's wrong, Luffy?" I thought your punch was as strong as a pistol." He chuckled. I stuck out my tongue._

_"____Shut up!" I yelled. He laughed some as he walked forward._

_"____If you come any closer, I'll blow your cowardly head off," the bandit said. A gun was then pressed to Shanks's head._

_"____He said not to go closer," another bandit said._

_"____Risk your life on it," Shanks said._

_"____What?" the bandit asked._

_"____This isn't a child's game. If you draw your gun, you bet your life," he said, then a shot rang out. The gun-wielding bandit fell to the ground. A member form Shanks crew bit into a piece of meat. Everyone was silent._

_"____You killed him!" a bandit yelled._

_"____What unfair bastards!" someone else exclaimed._

_"____You think you're facing saints?" Shanks's first mate yelled. "We're pirates!" He grinned._

_"____Shut up! We have no business with you!" a bandit yelled._

_"____You crossed the line the minute you harmed my friend. You don't think I noticed? How's your hand, Luffy?" Shanks asked me. I just stared at him. He glared at the bandit. "Thanks for standing up for us," he said._

_"____Stupid pirates! Men, kill them!" the bandit leader yelled._

___I wish I could say I saw the rest of the fight. When the bandit saw he was losing, he grabbed me and took off to the water. He stole a boat, and he sailed out to sea._

___"That was easy." The bandit laughed. "Who ever heard of a mountain bandit escaping to sea?" he asked as he dangled me over the ocean._

_"____Let me go, mountain monkey!" I yelled. He glared at me._

_"____I have no use for you." He tossed me into the water. I came up kicking and screaming. I couldn't swim. Was I gonna drown? My kicking and screaming must have stirred the sea king that lived in the waters. It came up and shot down, about to eat me after it ate the bandit._

_"____SHANKS!" I screamed, bracing myself for my inevitable death but it never came. I opened my eyes. I felt an arm around my waist and a chest next to my head. I looked up. "Shanks," I said, clutching his shirt._

_"____GET LOST," he commanded at the sea monster that backed up, swimming away. Then he looked down at me. I started crying. "Hey, hey, it's fine. You're alright now, Luffy." He smiled softly. I continued to cry._

_"____But Shanks, your arm!" I cried harder, sobbing loudly and clutching the spot where his other arm should be hanging by his side._

___It was days after the bandits that it was time to say goodbye to Shanks._

_"____So you're going for good this time?" I asked. Shanks nodded._

_"____Sure am. You gonna miss me?"_

_"____Of course! But I won't ask you to take me along." Shanks stuck out his tongue as I finished my sentence._

_"____I wasn't gonna take you anyway! Who'd want a hammer like you on their crew?" He laughed. I glared at him._

_"____Shut up, Shanks! You'll see! One day, I'll get a crew of my own! We'll kick your ass and I'll be the Pirate King!" I yelled._

_"____You'll beat me, huh?" he asked. I nodded. "Then you'll need this." I felt something pressed onto my head. Shanks's hat. "Return it to me one day. It's a promise, Luffy." He smiled. I felt tears flowing down my face._

_"____Shanks... you moron." I sniffled, pulling the hat down around my head._

___The mayor, Makino, and I watched as the ship sailed away. I smiled up at him. Shanks was smiling at me from the ship. I stayed and waved and called "goodbye!" until the ship was a tiny speck in the distance._

And now, years later. I'm leaning here against Zoro, staring at my treasure.

"Hey, if you space out like that, you'll drop it again. It's important, right?" Zoro nudged me. I sighed, putting it back on my head where it belonged.

"Yeah..." I smiled to myself. Then I turned and hugged my first mate. "Thanks for catching it, Zoro!" I grinned. Zoro tensed, he shifted and I let go as he leaned back.

"Well, I'm hungry," he said. Zoro was weird, I looked up and saw that a bird was circling us. "A bird, huh?" Zoro yawned.

"Let's eat that bird!" I smiled.

"How do you plan to do that?" he asked. I gathered energy in my feet and floated just above the boat "I see," Zoro said as I flew up higher. Then the bird caught my leg in its beak.

"AH!" I yelled. I struggled. "ZORO! HELP!" I cried out.

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING!? DUMBASS!" Zoro was speeding down after me now. I screamed and begged Zoro for help, I doubt he could hear me though, so I gave up and decided to wait until he found me.

**Meanwhile, a girl ran from a group of pirates.**

**"I did it! I did it!" she yelled, glancing at the map in her hands. Her orange hair flew back against the wind and she brought her hand below her white and blue stripped shirt to her orange shorts and shoved the map in a pocket. The map - the map of the Grand Line! She had it and was never letting it go. She ran and ran until a loud screaming stopped the pursuers and the perused.**

**"YIN-YANG ROCKET!" A girl fell from the sky before gently floating down on a cloud of black and white that filled the area.**

**"What?" The girl looked forward and saw a young girl with a straw hat standing there in-between her and the pirates.**

_**"**_**_That was some fall!" She smiled._**

_**"**_**_You..." The orange-haired girl recognized her. Then the girl looked up, up at the orange-haired girl._**

**"Hey! I remember you!" She smiled.**

**TO BE CONTINUED.**


	7. Enter-Nami!

"Stupid girl! Don't screw around with us!" a large man yelled, punching me hard in my face. My hat flew off my head and my eyes went wide as I stared up at it. I guess I let my anger get the better of me, since the next thing I knew, I had punched a black-covered fist into his face and sent him flying back. I caught my hat and returned it to my head.

"Don't touch my treasure," I growled.

"Little bitch!" the other two yelled, swinging their swords at me.

"Yin-Yang Pistol!" I yelled, lashing out with black bullets that shot out and threw everyone back. I glared at the three of them.

"Wow! You're strong, aren't you?" a voice called.

I looked up and saw that girl. She was up on a roof, looking down at me.

"Huh?" I tilted my head. She jumped from the roof onto the second-story porch.

"You won bare-handed against sabers," she pointed out.

"Huh? You were that..." I thought hard. I knew I remembered her from somewhere. "Who are you?" I gave up.

"I'm a thief that robs pirates!" She smiled. "My name's Nami. Hey! Why don't you join me?" she asked excitedly.

"No. I have no reason to join you," I said plainly. Then I turned and began walking away from her.

"Wa...wait!" she yelled after me. I heard her hit the ground. "I said wait!" she yelled again as she ran after me.

My stomach rumbled. I placed my hands on it and groaned.

"Now I remember..." I winced as I felt my empty stomach churn. "I'm so hungry!" I fell to my knees and hunched over in empty stomach pain.

"How 'bout I treat you?" Nami suggested. I looked up at her.

"Really!?" I jumped up. She nodded nervously. I looped my arm with hers. "Let's go!" I cheered.

Nami and I sat in a house, I ate the food she presented for me as she stood and watched.

"This is good!" I smiled. "You live here alone?" I asked.

"I don't live in this town," Nami said, confused. Then she shrugged. "The locals were scared of Buggy, so they ran away."

"Then you're breaking and entering," I pointed out.

"That's rude!" Nami puffed out her cheeks. "I'm a thief that robs pirates!" she explained to me once again. I chewed thoughtfully on the food in my mouth as she continued. "Don't compare me with someone who breaks and enters!"

I swallowed my food. "But a thief's a thief, right?" I asked. Nami looked away from me.

"I'll earn one hundred million beli, no matter what," she muttered. I made a noise of confusion as I stared at her.

"What are you gonna do with all that money?" I asked curiously. Nami turned her back to me as I continued eating.

"Secret," she said. Then she tucked a piece of paper into her shirt. "If you have a map of the grand line, one hundred million beli isn't just a dream," she said to herself. I stopped chewing and stared at her.

"Map? Are you a navigator?" I asked.

"My skills are way better than any other navigators'!" she boasted. I smiled widely, I felt the white air coming in waves.

"I see! That's great!" I stood. "Why don't you join us as a navigator?" I asked hopefully. She leaned on the table.

"Really!?" She smiled. I leaned over too.

"Yeah! A crew of pirates!" I smiled.

Nami glared at me.

"No," she refused. She looked me up and down, probably taking in my height, big eyes, brown hair and outfit. "You're a pirate?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," I said, taking my straw hat off my head and looking at it. "I promised the man who gave me this hat that I'd become a great pirate." I smiled, placing the hat back on my head. Nami was silent for a bit. Then she slammed her hands on the table

"I hate pirates more than anything else in this world!" she told me fiercely. "I only like money and oranges!"

"Come on! Be our navigator!" I begged again.

"I said no," she repeated, walking away from me, waving her hands to avoid the happy air. I shrugged, sitting back at the table.

"Oh well," I said ,shoving bread in my mouth, the white air disappearing.

It was quiet for a while. Nami stared out the window, listening to something I couldn't hear.

"Well, if you accept my conditions, I might think it over," she finally said, walking back to me. I smiled.

"Really? I'll do anything!" I grinned. A renewed white aura danced around me.

"I want you to come with me to see Buggy," she said. Then she let some rope fall from her hands. "However..." She smiled creepily as I ate the last of my meal. She made my stand as she tied a rope tightly around me.

"Why'd you tie me up?" I asked.

"It's just rope. Is there a problem?" she asked. I thought a little before smiling.

"It squeezes my chest a little, but I guess not!" I said. "I wouldn't mind meeting other pirates. Let's go!" I smiled back at Nami and started walking.

"Hey! Wait for me!" she said, walking faster.

I walked through a large group of pirates with Nami leading me by a rope. The men were all looking at me with interest, smiling at me and whispering to one another. I shifted under their gazes, but shook it off and let Nami guide me to the captain of the crew.

"That's her! She's the one who stole the map!" someone yelled, pointing at Nami. She pushed my roughly forward. I squealed and hit the ground, kneeling in front of a man who looked similar to a clown. Nami stuck her tongue out at me and looked at the man.

"I have captured the thief! Captain Buggy the Clown!" she announced, walking in front of me. "I'm returning the map!"

The clown pirate looked at her. "Thanks for returning the map, but what made you change your mind?" Buggy said, glancing curiously at me every now and again.

Nami was lying; was this part of her plan?

"I had a big fight with my little adoptive sister here," Nami said as she handed over the map to Buggy. "I really can't stand her anymore." She shrugged, motioning to me. "Can I join your crew?" she asked.

"Buggy's getting angry," someone muttered, voice trembling.

"His Devil's Fruit power will appear again," another mumbled in fear.

"Devil?" I muttered. I waited, But instead, Buggy laughed out loud.

"Had enough of her? What an interesting woman!" He laughed. "I like you. You can join us," he said as he broke out laughing again. Nami looked shocked, then she smiled. I shifted uncomfortably in the rope again. It was really chafing and squeezing my chest.

Moments later, I was sitting in a cage.

"Nami? Why am I in a cage?" I asked. No one answered me. The conversation Nami and Buggy were having was just out of my earshot. There was another man, though. He had long black hair and he stared intently at me. He looked hungry. Was he gonna eat me? I looked back over to Nami and Buggy, who were still talking.

"- a party for our new member, Nami!" Buggy had finished. Everyone cheered. I watched everyone, drinking, dancing, doing tricks, showing off, and worst of all...eating in front of me. My stomach rumbled and I groaned, leaning against the back bars of the cage. Nami was sitting with Buggy at a different table. They were talking about things I couldn't hear. I ignored it and concentrated hard. A small white bubble-like piece of air floated out and I sent it over to a table of food; the air made a line around a barrel and to the empty side of the table, hoping to grab some and float it back to me. My concentration was straining. It wasn't very easy, to be honest.

"I want to eat too!" I concentrated harder. My concentration broke and the air disappeared. I fell back and breathed heavily. "Shit..." I huffed, frustrated.

Buggy yelled something, everyone set up a large cannon and pointed it out at the small town. Nami had appeared to ask Buggy what he was doing. Buggy answered, Nami had a look of stiffness about her after. I watched the bomb, it flew out to the town and made a large explosion. My eyes were wide. Everyone but Nami cheered. I could only stare at the destructive path. I shook it out of my head. What did he say about ruling the grand line?

"Hey! The one who's going to rule the grand line is me!" I said. Buggy turned to look at me. He glared daggers. "I'm going to be the pirate king!" I yelled.

"You're an idiot!" Nami hissed my way. Buggy was silent. He stared down steadily and I think angrily.

"Now I know why you can't stand her..." Buggy growled. Nami nervously turned to him, smiling.

"Yeah, that's right. She's so simple-minded about everything. I just can't handle her anymore." She shrugged. Nami was lying again. I was getting tired of this game. It was boring. Buggy looked back to me.

"So true," he agreed. "In that case, Captain Buggy will give you a present..." He smiled evilly at me. "Blowing up this little sister of yours!"

"What?" Nami's fake smile fell. I glanced at the bomb. They were going to shoot me with that thing?

Buggy was still smiling at me. "It's also a test of your loyalty to me," he stated. He looked at his men. "Prepare it."

Nami's face was emotionless. I watched them prepare the bomb and point it my way. If that hit the cage, I would fall into the sea. I would die. I looked at Nami with almost pleading eyes. She looked back with a blank face, she was at a loss for what to do as well. This little game went to far, and I for one didn't want to play anymore.

"I-I'm fine as it is." Nami tried to lie our way out of this. "It's a party, right? Let's have some more fun!" she tried.

"Do it. This is my way of partying." Buggy was still intent on blowing me to pieces. He handed Nami the matches and she simply stared at them. I stared into the mouth of the cannon. I guess this was it for me. Damn.

"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!" everyone cheered out. Nami still stared at the matches, like she was deciding what her next move should be. Her eyes locked with mine and we had a small moment of silence, understanding.

Buggy spread his arms.

"Let's light it up!" he yelled as everyone continued to cheer. Nami's eyes stayed locked to mine. She opened her mouth to speak, so I held the stare. Whatever she did next, I'm sure I'd forgive her. One way or another. "Nami!" Buggy called to her. She broke the look and glanced back to him. "Don't ruin the party!" he yelled. She looked back at me. I held my stare, my composure. I was almost positive I would going to die sooner or later. Even if Nami didn't do it now herself.

"What's wrong? Your hands are shaking," I said to Nami. Her eyes held a bit of fear in them as she stiffened. I smiled. She straightened up. "Geez, this is what happens when you're not mentally prepared." I rolled my eyes and kept my grin. I was egging her on, pushing her to whatever choice she was gonna make.

"What do you mean by 'mentally prepared'?" She shot at me. "To kill people at will? Is that the way of the pirate?" I smiled a bit wider.

"No," I replied. Everything else, all the noise, seemed to be silent as I smiled and told Nami, "It's being prepared to risk your own life." I had said it quietly, but I knew she heard me. She was thinking again. Then the matches were snatched from her hand, and the pirate who had done so said something I couldn't hear and was about to light up the cannon. I made a noise of fear. Nami reached and put together a staff she held in pieces on her hip, whacking the pirate before the cannon was lit.

Everyone stopped cheering. Buggy looked shocked, and I was surprised as well.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" I yelled in shock.

"Aw crap, um..." Nami was racking her mind for a lie to tell. But Buggy was pissed.

"Nami!? What's the meaning of this!?" he growled. Nami stood straight and bowed.

"I'm sorry!" she squealed.

"WHAT'S THE POINT OF APOLOGIZING NOW!?" Buggy shouted rather incredulously. I chuckled a bit.

"What're you doing? Didn't you just save me?" I inquired. Nami looked at me.

"That's ridiculous!" she retorted. "I got too excited and slipped..." She was lying again. "I won't stoop to the same level as these pirates."

"Yeah, got too excited." I nodded.

"I'll never be like the pirates who took the life of the most important to me." she said aloud. I nodded.

"So, is that why..." I trailed off when I heard a sizzling. "AH! IT'S LIT!" I squeaked, pushing myself against the back of the cage.

"Do you really thing you can defy me? Bitch." Buggy snapped at Nami. Pirates came from all sides, about to attack her.

"WATER! WATER! I'M GONNA DIE!" I cried as Nami fought, running to the cannon. "This is way beyond bad..." I brought my knees up, blocking my face. I heard Nami scream in pain. I looked up to see her gripping the fire that was traveling up the rope of he cannon. "You..." I muttered. Her face was twisted in pain, but our gazes were still locked. "BEHIND YOU!" I yelled as the pirates shouted.

"Time to die!" They were raising their swords at Nami. My eyes went wide as I recognized the person who had blocked the slices.

I smiled widely.

"Hey, hey..." the voice said. "all these people picking on one girl?" I smiled even wider, sitting on my knees in the cage.

"Zoro!" I shouted. Nami looked back at him.

"Hurt?" he asked Nami.

"Uh..." Nami was at a loss for words. In the back of my mind, I wondered why.

"Are. You. Hurt?" Zoro broke it down for her.

"Uh, no, I'm fine," Nami answered.

"Yay! Thank goodness!" I smiled. "You actually found your way here!" I said aloud to Zoro. He winced and whipped around to glare at me. It was a friendly glare, though. "Hurry up and get me outta here!" I demanded. He sighed.

"What on earth are you doing?" he asked me. "A bird takes you away, and now you're in a cage?" he asked again. I shrugged.

"Well, it was fun. But I need help now! Zoorrrooo!" I whined. The pirates were muttering to themselves about something, staring at Zoro with what looked like fear. Zoro walked past Nami and over to my cage.

"You-you're Zoro. What do you want? Come for my head?" Buggy asked, making Zoro stop to look back at him.

"Not interested. I quit being a pirate hunter," Zoro said.

"But I'm interested. If I kill you, I'll become even more famous!" Buggy laughed. Zoro glared back at him.

"Don't do it. You'll die," Zoro said. He was staring back at an angry Buggy.

"Eh? Okay." the clown smiled, twirling a knife in one hand and gripping one in the other. Zoro sighed.

"I guess I can't make him understand..." He said to himself. I watched from my cage as everyone cheered on Buggy, except Nami, who just stood in shock. Buggy licked the dull part of him knife and smiled as Zoro took a fighting stance. I watched with growing anticipation and a bit of worry.

"TIME FOR YOU TO DIE!" Buggy jumped at Zoro, who sliced the clown's arm and leg off, as well as in half. Everyone got quiet. Nami squeezed her eyes shut. Zoro put his swords away as Buggy fell. Then he looked back.

"No reaction at all..." he said.

"Wow! That guy was really weak!" I stated, smiling at Zoro.

"No way..." Nami muttered, then she looked as the Buggy Pirate Crew started laughing. Zoro glanced at them, then back at me. All I did was blink in confusion.

"What are they.." I trailed off.

"What's going on?" Nami asked quietly. "Their captain was killed and they're laughing," she stated.

"You! What's so funny!?" Zoro asked angrily. I saw Buggy stand, whole again.

"ZORO!" I screamed. He looked back an was stabbed through his side. Zoro made a noise of pain before falling to his knees. Blood was already forming on his clothes. "ZORO!" I screamed again, this time in worry, not warning. Okay, and maybe some anger. I felt the black air coming off me in small waves. Yeah, I was getting angry.

Nami gasped when she saw what had stabbed Zoro.

"What's with that hand!?" she yelled.

"What the hell is this?" Zoro growled out through his teeth. The sword was pulled out and he looked back to see the hand flying back to Buggy and connecting to his arm

"The Chop-Chop Fruit," Buggy stated. "That's the name of the Devil's Fruit I ate!" He connected all of himself back. "I can't be killed by a sword! I'm a splitting man!" He laughed.

"His body went back together..." Nami breathed. "I thought the Devil's Fruit was just a myth!"

"Splitting man? Is he a monster?" I asked. Then again, I was the walking definition of yin and yang.

"Although it's not critical, the wound is still pretty serious," Buggy said to Zoro. "This fight is over." Buggy's crew started cheering again as he stood over Zoro and continued to laugh at him.

"This isn't looking good..." Zoro stuttered past his pain. The black air still came. I gripped my hands into fists in an attempt to keep calm. I only ended up straining the rope that was tightly tied around me.

"ATTACKING FROM BEHIND IS COWARDLY!" I shouted. "BIG RED NOSE!" I growled out loudly. Everything was silent again. Buggy looked over and glared at me.

"Who...has...a..." Buggy was angry as well. "BIG RED NOSE!?" he snapped, turning to face me. He shot his sword at my face.

"LUFFY!" Zoro coughed. I caught the sword with the black air.

"Buggy..." I muttered, holding the sword inches away from my face. "I'm gonna kick the crap outta you." I glared, smiling evilly as the black air started coming in waves. The black air broke the knife into pieces, getting stronger the angrier I got.

Buggy laughed at me.

"Kick my ass? You must be dreaming, little girl!" Buggy mocked me as his crew laughed along with him. "All three of you are going to die today," he stated. "Now, how should I finish you guys off..." he thought aloud. The black air was getting stronger. I could feel it. Nami was scared, Zoro was hurt, and I kept getting angry.  
"It's no use... It's over..." Nami muttered. That pushed me. I let out a crazed laugh. The dark part of me was close to taking over. I was going to lose myself.

"Like hell I'll die!" I laughed. Then I stopped, my stare was cold, dark. "You might wanna run, Zoro," I said seriously.

"What?" Zoro said, his eyes searched mine. Maybe I was just too far gone to care.

"You're telling the guy who came to save you to run away!? What about you!?" Nami shouted at me. My judgment was clouded, but I didn't want to hurt anyone close to me. Like I could tell them that. I just smiled, my eyes still cold and crazed. I was blinded by anger. That black air was coming in large, strong waves. Zoro looked at me, worried and a bit fearful. Then he smiled at bit.

"Roger that," he said. Nami nearly fell over.

"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE!" Buggy yelled, attacking Zoro again. Zoro fought, tricking Buggy, and running to the cannon. He flipped it over and away from me and Nami ran around it.

"WHAT!? WE'RE GONNA DIE!?" Buggy shook and stepped back.

Zoro was doubled over in pain. My eyes were sill angry, cold, dark, crazed. I could feel the anger fading slightly, but not by much.

"Hey, light it," he said to Nami.

"What?" she said.

"Hurry!" Zoro yelled.

"Yeah!" Nami stuttered.

"Wait, what!?" Buggy was stuttering. "Wait! The bomb is still in there!" he yelled. Nami lit the cannon. I let out another crazed laugh in anticipation of what I knew was coming.

"You lit it! Ahh! Stop! Stop!" Buggy panicked. Nami and Zoro covered their ears, waiting for the bang. The loud boom rang out and the bomb shot at the Buggy pirates.

******TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
